


Poppies and Geraniums

by derwentian



Category: Dishonored (Video Game)
Genre: Flower Crowns, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-04
Updated: 2015-09-04
Packaged: 2018-04-19 00:50:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4726574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/derwentian/pseuds/derwentian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Corvo takes a break from assassinations and treachery to spend some time with Emily. (Apparently a young empresses' studies involve the language of flowers.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Poppies and Geraniums

Weak, grimy sunlight illuminates the uppermost room of a brick tower -- Emily's tower. The stark red walls are decorated with posters and advertisements ripped from public areas, along with Emily's own crayon drawings. While the ragged posters exhibit brothels and dogfights, Emily's works portray more charming topic matter: a rainbow splayed wide over the pub, or Samuel the boatman at the helm of a mighty ocean-faring vessel. A rendering of the late Empress hangs near her bed, and a half-finished drawing of a smiling man is hidden away in a drawer.

Opposite the room's largest window, Emily and Corvo sit across from each other on the floor. Between them is a pile of colorful flowers and plants, all collected earlier in the day while Corvo was out. Daisies, geraniums, red poppies, zinnias, a handful of rosemary, and two odd little flowers that resemble bleeding hearts (not so much picked from the earth as picked from a vase in Lord Pendleton’s room -- surely he wouldn’t miss them), along with a few generic wildflowers that Emily considered particularly striking. She insists that they all have very specific meanings and purposes, but the nuances are largely lost on Corvo, and he merely takes her word on the matter for now. Symbolism isn’t the point of their current endeavor, anyway.

“Okay, Corvo. Here’s what you do. Just watch me.” Emily plucks three daisies from the pile, glancing up at Corvo to make sure he’s paying attention (sometimes it’s hard to tell on his quiet days). He is, and she braids the flowers’ stems together with a speed and efficiency that comes only from an immense amount of practice. 

Corvo says nothing, but his confused squinting makes it clear that he isn’t quite following. “I did it too fast, didn’t I? Sorry. Here, I’ll go again.” Emily sets the daisies aside and grabs another three flowers. “See the stems? You just braid them together. You have to be careful, though; if you’re too rough they might break, and that ruins the whole thing.” She repeats the braiding motions from before, but notably slower. Corvo nods, much more receptive now that he can actually tell what Emily is doing. She grins at him for a moment before gesturing to the pile of flowers. “Now you try!” 

He blinks a few times. Apparently he wasn’t expecting an assessment so soon. Emily watches him inspect the flower pile, curious as to what he’ll choose. If he knew more about flowers, he would probably pick rosemary or zinnia. She thinks he would, anyway. Eventually he selects a few of the generic-yet-pretty wildflowers. White and blue. He glances briefly at Emily to gauge her response (which, thankfully, is positive) before turning his attention to the task at hand.

Weaving the flower stems together takes much longer for Corvo to accomplish than it would Emily. Ironically, he’s almost being too gentle about it, as though he’s extremely aware of how delicate the flowers are and how easy it would be for him to mangle them accidentally. Emily suspects his size is part of the problem. The stems are probably too small for him to maneuver them comfortably. 

He manages, though, and looks suitably proud of himself when his three small flowers hold together. Emily’s expression mirrors his as she plucks more flowers from the pile. “See, it’s not so hard. When you want to add another flower, you just work its stem in too, just like the first ones,” she demonstrates as she speaks. “And then you keep going until it’s done!” Corvo carefully braids a geranium into his chain, amusingly devoted to the task. “I’m making this one for you, Corvo. Let’s swap when you’re done, okay?” He nods, taking on an air of purpose all of a sudden.

The look of utter concentration on Corvo’s face proves that he’s taking this just as seriously as Emily expected him to, and the room falls silent as they work save for her own humming. Emily finishes first, with Corvo trailing close behind. With all the grace and poise of a fully grown empress, Emily places a garland of poppies, geraniums, and the funny little heart-shaped flowers from Pendleton’s room atop Corvo’s head, breaking character to kiss his cheek before receiving his creation in return. Daisies and geraniums, with some white and blue wildflowers mixed in.

**Author's Note:**

> For anyone who was curious, here's the meanings of the flowers:  
> Daisies - cheerful sentiments, innocence  
> Geraniums - gentility, kindness  
> Red poppies - death, remembrance, mourning  
> Zinnias - thoughts of an absent friend  
> Rosemary - remembrance  
> Bleeding hearts - heartbreak, lost love


End file.
